What to do when you feel your body has failed you

Do you feel your body has failed you?

Maybe a difficult childbirth, a medical condition or long term illness have left you feeling your body is a bit ‘broken’?

If so, you’re certainly not alone.

But when faced with these feelings, what can you do to be more accepting and positive about your body?

In this post, I’m sharing four things to move you beyond the ‘my body is a failure’ narrative.

Watch or read below:

Feel your body has failed you?

Have you ever felt like your body has failed you or ‘let you down’? Like it isn’t doing the job that it’s meant to do?

Some of the women I work with tell me that their body is weak and a failure. This is particularly true when they’ve experienced illness or a difficult time during child birth.

While I have sympathy for anyone experiencing illness, particularly if it’s long term, berating your body and putting it down won’t help your physical or mental health.

Dealing with the feeling your body has failed you

When you’re faced with ill health or a lingering injury, what can you do to accept and feel more positive about your body?

Here are four things for you to try:

1. Focus on what your body can do

Even if you’re in pain or have restricted movement, what CAN your body do?

Just because you can’t race around at break neck speed like you used to, doesn’t mean that your body no longer functions.

It is still carrying out a lot of basic functions that keep you alive, and there will still be things that you can do. Focusing on these rather than on what your body can’t do is a much healthier head space to be in.

2. Stop pushing yourself

If you’re attempting to do things you used to do before your illness or injury, stop. If it hurts or doesn’t feel right, your body is trying to tell you something.

When you ‘carry on regardless’, you’re not accepting what is going on for your body right now, and you’re not tuning in to what your body needs.

Carrying on regardless won’t help – it will only make you more aware of what your body can’t do and will probably set back your recovery.

3. Be compassionate towards your body

Recognise that your body is doing all it can to take care of itself and have compassion for that. Being compassionate means adopting a kinder, gentler voice towards your body.

Move away from any language that implies your body is ‘broken’ or your body has failed you. This kind of language will only make you feel frustrated, down or angry.

4. Practice nourishing self-care

Do things that nourish both your physical and mental health. Focus on healthy, balanced behaviours that help your condition whether that’s a gentle form of exercise or eating foods that support your health.

Don’t forget to include activities that help you feel calm, peaceful and content like journaling, meditation, mindfulness or connecting with others.

So that’s it, four strategies to help when you feel like your body has let you down.

If you’re struggling with the feeling that your body has failed you, I’d love to hear how you develop a more accepting and positive attitude towards your body. 

Please leave a comment below.